Hinge structure



Sept 9, 1969 R. E. FoLrz 3,465,380

HINGE STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 7, 196e Mm 3M 6 9 56./00

United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 16-136 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A door hinge including, in certain ones of the knuckles of the leaves thereof a plurality of ball bearing units, each of the units including an upper and lower raceway having a train of ball bearings movably mounted therebetween. The lower raceway includes lin the upwardly facing surface thereof a channel in which`the ball bearings rest and the upper raceway includes on the downwardly facing surface thereof a shoulder portion about the perimeter thereof. Each of the raceways includes a central aperture therethrough, the aperture of the upper raceway being smaller in diameter than that of the lower raceway so that the hinge pintle of the door hinge which is received in the central bores of the knuckles of the hinge leaves lits snugly within the upper raceway but is spaced from the lower raceway.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to door hinges and more particularly to hinges which include ball bearing units located in recesses in the knuckles of the leaves thereof.

Residential and oce doors are conventionally hung for swinging operation on butt or the like hinges. Very often these doors are large and weighty, tending to exert a great force or load on the hinges used to hold the door in place.

Ordinarily hinges which make use of ball bearing units in the knuckles thereof accommodate the vertical component of force or load exerted thereon by the door, but do not eiciently take up the lateral or horizontal component of force or load of the door.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a hinge which makes use of ball bearing units in the knuckles thereof, which eflciently accommodates both the vertical and lateral load components of a door.

A more general object of the invention is to provide a new and improved door hinge.

A better understanding of the present invention and its organization and construction may be had by referring to the description below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hinge according to the invention shown in use, mounting a door to a door frame;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side sectioned view of the hinge, door, and door frame of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectioned view of a knuckle of a hinge incorporating therein a new and improved ball bearing unit according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of the ball bearing unit of FIG. 3 taken along the line 4 4; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side sectioned view of an alternative form of a hinge incorporating the ball bearing unit of FIG. 3 according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now in detail to the drawings, FIG. 1 thereof illustrates a door installation including a butt hinge 12 according to the invention which swingably mounts a door 14 to a jamb 16. The butt hinge 12 includes a pair of hinge leaves 18 and 20 which are fastened respectively to 3,465,388 Patented Sept. 9, 1969 ICC the jamb 16 and the door 14 by means of flat-headed Wood screws 22.

As can best be seen in FIG. 2, leaf 20 is provided with tubular end knuckles 24 and a medially disposed tubular knuckle 26, spaced axially inwardly from the end knuckles 24. Leaf 18 is provided with a pair of tubular knuckles 28, medially disposed with respect to tubular knuckles 24 and spaced to intert with tubular knuckles 24 and 26. In addition, the butt hinge 12 includes a hinge pintle 30 provided to retain the knuckles in an interlocked relation. The pintle comprises an elongated, cylindrically shaped stem portion 32 having a beveled tip 34 and a cylindrical head 36. It should be noted that the shape and type of pintle described is for illustrative purposes only and could take other suitable shapes, such for example as a type having a countersunk head, etc. As shown in FIG. 2, the stem portion 32 of the hinge pintle is received in the axially aligned central bores 72 and 37 of the upper knuckles 24, 26 and 28. A plug element 46 is provided in the bore 72 of lower end knuckle 24 and the tip 48 thereof lits in flush relation with the tip 34 of hinge pintle 30. While the hinge shown in the drawings is of the live knuckle type, it should be understood that the invention is not limited thereto and may be employed in hinges of many types, for example, one having three knuckles.

A pair of ball bearing units 38 and 40 according to the invention are received in annular counterbores or recesses, 42 and 44, respective, in knuckles 28 of leaf 18. These ball bearing units, which will be described in greater detail below include a train of high carbon alloy or chrome steel balls 50 which are confined between hardened steel raceways 52 and 54.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings, ball bearing unit 38 is shown fitted into specially shaped recess 42 fashioned in knuckle 28. The ball bearing unit 38 is identical to unit 40 mentioned above; thus for simplification, only unit 38 will be described in detail. As mentioned above, unit 38 comprises an upper raceway 52, a lower raceway 54 and a train of steel balls 50 mounted for movement therebetween. Both the upper and lower raceways 52 and 54 are circular in shape with equal outside diameters, and having central apertures and 82 therethrough, respectively, which are axially aligned with the central bores of the knuckles. The central aperture 80 of upper raceway 52, as shown in FIG. 3, is smaller in diameter than the central aperture 82 of lower raceway 54 and the central bore 37 of knuckle 28 wherein ball bearing unit 38 is located. The lower raceway 54 includes a channel 58 in the upwardly facing surface 60 thereof in which the ball bearings 50 rest. The channel 58 includes a pair of shoulder portions 62 and 64, about the inner and outer perimeters of raceway 54, respectively, which secures the ball bearings 50 within the channel. The upper raceway 52, on the lower surface thereof, which faces downwardly toward surface 60 of the raceway 54, includes only a single shoulder portion 68 about the outer perimeter of the circular surface 66. The remainder of surface 66, that is the portion 70 thereof between the stem portion 32 of hinge pintle 30 and the ball bearings 50, is at and level.

The outside diameter of cylindrically shaped stem portion 32 of hinge pintle 30 which is received in the central bores 72 and 37 of the knuckles, it will be noted, is substantially equal to the diameter of central aperture 80 and thus fits snugly in central aperture 80. The central aperture 32 of the lower raceway 54, on the other hand, is larger than the outside diameter of stem 32 so that a space 84, which is shown in FIG. 3 to be approximately equal to the space 35 between the hinge pintle 30 and the inner surface of the central bore 37 of knuckle 28, is provided therebetween.

Referring now specifically to FIG. 4 of the drawings, the ball bearing unit 38 is shown in place in recess 42 of knuckle 28 and the space 84 between stem portion 32 of hinge pintle 30 and lower raceway 54 can easily be seen. The train of ball bearings 50 is shown completely filling the circular channel 58 of lower raceway 54, and the leaves 18 and 20 of hinge 12 are shown to be extending to respective sides of the knuckles 26 and 28 of the butt hinge.

For purposes 'of affording a more complete understanding of the invention, it is advantageous now to provide a functional description of the mode in which the component parts thus far described cooperate.

Referring once again to the door installation 10 of FIG. 1, the door 14, which is hung on door jamb 16 by means of hinge 12, exerts both a vertical component of a load or force, in a direction indicated by arrow S6 and a horizontal or lateral component of force, in the direction indicated by arrow 57, on hinge 12. The resultant or actual force exerted by the door which becomes angular, is indicated by the sum of the component forces, 56 and 57, as arrow 55.

Looking at FIG. 3 and unit 38 shown therein for illustrative purposes, the upper knuckle 24, which is an integral part of leaf 20 attached to door 14, due to the weight of the door, bears down on the upwardly facing surface 90 of the ball bearing unit and the hingle pintle 30, due to the door weight creating a force in the horizontal direction thereagainst, also bears against the ball bearing unit. Because of the snug fit between the pintle 30 and upper raceway 52, and because upper raceway has only an outside shoulder portion 68, less resistance is offered to the rolling thereof over the ball bearings. Thus, both the vertical component and lateral component of force transmitted by the door to the bearing unit according to the invention is taken up by the latter in an efficient manner. A diagrammatic showing of the accommodation of the force produced by the door on the ball bearing unit is indicated in FIG. 3 by the arrows 39.

The lower ball bearing unit 40 acts in the same manner as unit 38 to aid in the accommodation of both the horizontal and vertical components of the force exerted by the door. It should be noted, however, that the hanging of the door, on either the right or left hand side of the jamb, determines which bearing unit, i.e., the upper or lower, takes the vertical load thereof, whereas both bearings are active in taking up the lateral force vector exerted by the door, the top lateral force component being away from the door jamb and the lower being toward the jamb when the door is at a ninety degree angle with the jamb. Thus, through the provision in hinge 12 of ball bearing units 38 and 40, according to the invention, a door hung thereby is properly supported so that it will operate smoothly and easily while avoiding undue wear, etc., to the pintle and other elements thereof.

To aid in the smooth operation of a door mounted on the hinge 12, oil impregnated, metal sleeves of the well known type could be added between the pintle and inner bore of the knuckles; however, these sleeves are optional and form no part of the invention.

FIG. of the drawings illustrates an alternativel embodiment of the hinge arrangement according to the invention. This type `of hinge, instead of using a single relatively long hinge pintle such as 30 above, which is inserted into the central bores of the hinge knuckles, uses a pair of short threaded pintles such as 92; one of the threaded pintles being received in the upper end, as shown in FIG. 5, and one being received in the lower end of the knuckles (not shown).

In this type of hinge arrangement the central bores, such as 93 of the end knuckles of the hinge, are threaded to accommodate the threads 94 of pintles such as 92. The ball bearing unit 95 which is identical to the' units 38 and 40, as described above, receives the pintle 92 in the same way that units 33 and 40 receive hinge pintle 30. As can be seen, the end portion 96 of threaded pintle 92 is tapered and not threaded. At portion 97 thereof, just beneath the threads 94 of the pintle, the outside diameter thereat is substantially equal to the inside diameter of the upper raceway 91 of ball bearing unit 95, so that a relatively snug tit is provided. The portion 99 of the tapered end 96 of threaded pintle 92, which is adjacent the lower raceway 101 of unit 95, is spaced therefrom to provide a gap 100 therebetween, equivalent to the gap 84 in FIG. 3. Thus, the relation between threaded pintle 92 and unit 95 is the same as that between units 38 and 4), and hinge pintle 30, so that a hinge incorporating either type of hinge pintleI will perform equally as well in accommodating both the lateral and vertical components of force or load of a door hung thereby.

Thus, a hinge which incorporates a ball bearing unit according to the invention efiiciently and effectively accommodates both the horizontal or lateral and vertical forces caused by the weight of the door hung thereby, and provides smooth, eicient operation of the door without the sagging of the latter.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broadest aspects, and therefore the aim of the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A hinge for mounting a door to a door jamb, said hinge including a pair of cooperating hinge leaves, one of said leaves being attachable to said door and the other of said leaves being attachable to said door jamb, respectively, said leaves including interfitting end and medial knuckles having aligned bores therethrough, at least one of said knuckles having recesses formed therein, a ball bearing unit being received in said recess, said ball bearing unit including a first and second raceway, each having a central aperture therethrough aligned with said bores of said knuckles, the central aperture of said first raceway being smaller in diameter than that of said second raceway, said raceways being spaced from each other with a train of ball bearings mounted therebetween, and hinge pintle means being received in said bores and central apertures of said raceways of said ball bearing unit, the outside diameter of said pintle means being substantially equal to the diameter of the central aperture of said first raceway so as to fit snugly therein with said pintle means being spaced from said second raceway, and said first raceway including a shoulder portion about the outside periphery thereof conforming in shape to and contacting said ball bearings, the inner periphery of said raceway being substantially fiat and free of a shoulder similar to said shoulder about the outside periphery whereby said unit takes up forces applied both laterally and vertically to said hinge by said door and transmitted thereto through said pintle.

2. A hinge as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said second raceways includes a channel in which said ball bearings are located.

3. A hinge as defined in claim 1 wherein said first raceway is the upper raceway of said ball bearing unit and wherein the second raceway is the lower raceway of said ball bearing unit.

4. A hinge as defined n claim 1 wherein the bores of said knuckles including said ball bearing units are larger in diameter than the diameter of the central aperture of said first raceway.

5. A hinge as defined in claim 1 wherein said hinge is provided with a plurality of bearing units and a like number of recesses.

6. A hinge as defined in claim 5 wherein the knuckles adjacent said end knuckles include recesses in which said ball bearing units are received, and wherein said first mentioned knuckles form an integral extension of the leaf of said hinge attached to said door.

7. A hinge for mounting a door to a door jamb, said hinge including a pair of cooperating hinge leaves, one of said leaves being attachable to said door and the other of said leaves being attachable to said door jamb, respectively, said leaves including intertting end and medial knuckles having aligned bores therethrough, a plurality of said knuckles having recesses formed therein, a plurality of ball bearing units, one of said units being received in each of said recesses, each of said ball bearing units including a first and second raceway, each having a central aperture therethrough aligned with said bores of said knuckles, the central aperture of said first raceway being smaller in diameter than that of said second raceway, said raceways being spaced from each other with a train of ball bearings mounted therebetween, and hinge pintle means being received in said bores and central apertures of said raceways of each of said ball bearing units, the outside diameter of said pintle means being substantially equal to the diameter of the central aperture of each of said first raceways so as to t snugly therein, said pintle means being spaced from each of said second raceways, whereby said units take up forces applied both laterally and vertically to said hinge by said`door and transmitted thereto through said pintle, and wherein the bore of each of said end knuckles is threaded and Wherein said hinge pintle means includes a plurality of pins each including a threaded portion and engaging one of the threaded bores of said end knuckles, said pins each having a beveled tip, a first portion of said tip having a diameter substantially equal to that of the central aperture of said upper raceway and being received snugly therein, and a second portion of said tip having a diameter substantially smaller than the central aperture of said lower raceway and being received therein in spaced relation to said lower raceway.

8. A ball bearing unit for use in a knuckle of a leaf of a hinge to accommodate both vertical and lateral forces applied to said hinge, from a door hung thereon, said unit comprising: a first raceway being circular in shape and having a centrally disposed aperture therethrough of a predetermined diameter; a second raceway being circular in shape with an outside diameter equal to that of said first raceway and having a centrally disposed aperture therethrough with a diameter greater than that of said first raceway; and a train of ball bearings mounted for movement between said raceways; said central apertures for receiving a hinge pintle having a diameter substantially equal to that of said rst raceway, so that said pintle fits snugly in the central aperture of said rst raceway; and said first raceway including a shoulder about the outside periphery thereof conforming in shape to and contacting said ball bearings, the inner periphery of said raceway being substantially flat and free from a similar shoulder; whereby both lateral and vertical forces applied to said hinge, through said pintle, are accommodatable by said ball bearing unit.

9. A ball bearing unit as claimed in claim 8 wherein said' first raceway is the upper raceway of said ball bearing unit and said second raceway is the lower raceway of said ball bearing unit and wherein said lower raceway includes in the upwardly facing surface thereof, a channel in which said ball bearings rest.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,435,907 11/1922 Howard 16-136 3,118,171 1/1964 Parsons 16--136 3,152,356 10/1964 Parsons 16-169 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner D. L. TROUTMAN, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 16-169 

